SWDnovel Chapter 203 Qualifications
Chapter 203 Qualifications
"Fellow Daoist Zhong... I, Bai, request an audience."
Just as Zhong Lingxiu continued her conversation with Xuanqi Daoist, a Core Formation Divine Sense arrived.
Zhong Lingxiu's face immediately lit up with joy: "Fellow Daoist Bai...you've successfully formed your Core?"
He turned around and introduced Xuan Qi, "This is my good friend from the Lesser Universe Sea. I didn't expect him to finally succeed in forming his core..."
"It turns out we have a new comrade-in-arms; this is indeed a joyous occasion."
Xuanqi Daoist thought to himself, "So the Zhong Alliance has a Core Formation cultivator hidden away. That makes sense... With two Core Formation cultivators in charge, one guarding the home and the other going out, whether it's sailing or hunting demons, they can always earn enough spirit points..."
He waited a moment, and then a beam of white light descended, revealing a handsome and dashing male cultivator with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. His true core power was perfectly rounded, and his cultivation level was indeed that of someone who had just entered the Core Formation stage.
It was Fang Qing who appeared with the appearance of Fang Jin!
"Fellow Daoist Bai, I am Xuan Qi. I have not yet congratulated you on forming your True Core, thus becoming a fellow Daoist."
Xuan Qi chuckled and chatted with Fang Qing for a few moments, then stood up: "Since Fellow Daoist Zhong has a guest, this old Daoist will come again in a couple of days..." After the man left, Fang Qing, without any hesitation, sat down in the main seat: "What happened?"
He was focused on the battle of Fuqi Dao and didn't care about Zhong Lingxiu's trivial matters at all.
It looks like things aren't looking good right now.
"A mere quasi-third-tier spiritual vein, and the rent is so high? Isn't the cultivation world of the East Sea incredibly rich in resources?"
Fang Qing found it strange.
"The resources are abundant, but they all belong to someone... This Ice Sky Island belongs to 'Ice Sky Market,' and the market owner is said to be a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, and also has connections with a Nascent Soul old monster..."
Zhong Lingxiu smiled wryly, "Although the market rents out spiritual veins to sects and large families, the fees are quite high, forcing cultivators to go to the market to work as their slaves..."
In fact, if Fang Qing hadn't asked him to find a neutral place to settle down, he could have easily brought the person under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Frost Sect and allocated a third-tier spiritual land, which would have been quite simple.
Even now, Zhong Lingxiu is only reluctant to part with the exorbitant rent and wants to negotiate the price...
"Um."
Fang Qing understood; it wasn't a big deal anyway.
He leaned back lazily in the soft chair and casually said, "Let me give you a general overview of the current situation in the cultivation world of the East Sea..."
Zhong Lingxiu bowed: "I have already given you the information about the cultivation world in the East Sea. Needless to say, that palace and temple are at the level of the overlords of the East Sea..."
"The next three islands and four gates are Merchant Island, Talisman Sword Island, Blood Fiend Island, and the Four Seas Gate, Profound Center Gate, Heavenly Mystery Gate, and Beast Taming Gate... Merchant Island is controlled by the cultivation family 'Merchant,' which has also established the largest merchant guild in the East Sea cultivation world—'Merchant Alliance.' It is said that Nascent Soul Spiritual Items are auctioned at their top-level auction held once every hundred years..."
"Spellblade Island is renowned for its spells and swordsmanship, and it possesses a unique 'Spellblade' technique... known as a dual cultivation of magic and swordsmanship, with considerable power." "Blood Fiend Island, on the other hand, is a demonic force. It's a mobile island, its whereabouts always elusive. Having withstood several righteous attacks, its strength is likely the strongest among the three islands..."
"The other four sects each have their own characteristics. The Heavenly Mystery Sect excels in puppetry, the Profound Center Sect is good at alchemy, the Beast Taming Sect is good at beast taming, and the last one, the Four Seas Sect, is also a merchant guild, composed of a group of mid-level forces, and they are involved in all kinds of cultivation arts... Strictly speaking, my Heavenly Frost Sect is also a supporter of the Four Seas Sect. As for the elixirs that can enhance the mana of Core Formation cultivators and help them break through bottlenecks... they are quite rare even in the cultivation world of the East Sea. Mid-level forces like the Heavenly Frost Sect can only use them as occasional rewards, and it is impossible to support Core Formation cultivators to take third-level pills indefinitely... If we want to obtain them in large quantities, we can only think of a way from these top forces."
Zhong Lingxiu recounted the story in detail.
He was also a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation, so asking about these things wouldn't attract any attention; it was perfectly normal for him.
"Hmm, that's not urgent..."
Fang Qing waved his hand.
He still had a batch of third-tier pills made from thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, enough to last him for a while.
"Furthermore... although I have average aptitude, my cultivation speed seems about the same as Zhong Lingxiu's. It should be that for Core Formation cultivators, the quality of their True Core is the most important factor, and aptitude has become less important..."
Zhong Lingxiu's aptitude was second only to a Heavenly Grade Spiritual Root! Yet, she formed a Mid-Grade True Core!
According to Fang Qing's calculations, even a cultivator with superior aptitude who condenses a low-grade true core might not be as fast as him in reaching the Core Formation stage. "I'm even slightly better than a high-grade true core... so perhaps the bottleneck in the mid-Core Formation stage isn't too difficult?"
"With a single true elixir swallowed, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!"
"After successfully cultivating to the Core Formation stage, I finally managed to defy fate... Otherwise, where would I find another Zhou Tian Star Palace secret realm to gather resources?"
Fang Qing felt gratified.
He had originally planned to come to the cultivation world of the East Sea to find treasures and secret techniques to improve his aptitude... but now it seems he can postpone that.
After sending Zhong Lingxiu away, Fang Qing, without any hesitation, occupied the best cave in the Zhong Alliance and began to meditate and cultivate.
"As expected... the spiritual energy is not as good as that of Taibai Island."
"Coming to the cultivation world in the East Sea is like coming from the countryside to a big city. There are plenty of resources, but the accommodations are not good..."
"Even if Xiao Huanhai is bad, at least a Core Formation cultivator can have a third-tier spirit island to himself... This place is only fit to rent a third-tier cave dwelling. Zhong Meng is even worse off, his spiritual energy is only near third-tier..."
"Of course, if someone in a big city is truly rich and powerful, they live in a house even bigger than a farmhouse in the countryside... I'm talking about Nascent Soul stage cultivators, those with fourth-tier spiritual veins enjoying..."
After meditating and adjusting his breathing for a while to recover, Fang Qing began to consider the cultivation issues after his Qi Refining Dao had reached the Core Formation stage.
Accumulating magical power through true alchemy is not something that can be done overnight.
For ordinary Core Formation cultivators, the most important thing after condensing their True Core is to refine their own natal magic weapon!
Zhong Lingxiu is a case in point; in order to refine her own "Ice Soul Pearl," she still owes the Heavenly Frost Sect a large sum of money!
"I have seen all of the natal magic treasures of the 'Azure Sea Technique,' and the most outstanding ones are the Mountain and Sea Pearl and the Clear Phoenix Flute..." These are actually the Mountain and Sea Pearl and the Jade Flute magic treasures in Fang Qing's hands.
Master Bihai was a great cultivator who had reached the peak of Core Formation, so naturally, the natal magic weapon he chose was the best.
Now that it's in Fang Qing's hands, although its power has been somewhat diminished due to its status as a natal magic weapon, it's still sufficient for the early and middle stages of Core Formation. This is why he's not in a hurry.
Not to mention, he also possesses a bunch of powerful treasures.
Even that "Kill the Wolf" flying sword!
Thinking of this, Fang Qing circulated the golden energy in his lungs, transforming it into a flying sword.
This natal flying sword has been nurtured within his body. Since he reached the late stage of his Dao Foundation, it has been transformed into the [Lou Jin] "Sharp Brilliance Chapter" and nurtured several times. In particular, with the help of the third-order true fire "Illumination of the Unknown," it has been refined twice more in form and substance. Now it can be considered a third-order flying sword.
In comparison, it's no worse than a typical low-grade magic weapon.
"But I am, after all, a water-based cultivator, and using a metal-based flying sword just doesn't seem quite right..."
Fang Qing silently pondered his family's Qi Refining Dao Core Formation technique.
In fact, after he reached the Core Formation stage, he gradually stopped paying much attention to the Azure Sea Technique, since it was truly mediocre.
Furthermore, the power of their natal magic weapons is generally average.
As for which cultivation method to practice next, Fang Qing naturally had a plan in mind: the "Sea Devouring Technique"!
"This skill can at least be cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, and it is also in the same lineage as the Azure Sea Skill... Well, actually, I can switch to any skill without any difficulty... But the problem is that after switching, I can still use the various experiences and spells I have cultivated before."
"As expected of the 'Sea Devouring Technique,' it has a much wider selection of natal magic treasures than the 'Azure Sea Technique,' including many powerful treasures." Fang Qing took out the "Sea Devouring Token," infused it with magic power, and carefully examined the natal magic treasure section.
"Mysterious Netherworld Mirror, Tide Sound Zither, Abyss Sea Robe, Abyss Eye Pearl, Tide Nail, Sea Devourer"
"These are all powerful natal magic treasures, each with its own unique uses... The Xuanming Mirror can 'dispel illusions and purify the mind,' and it has a certain effect on the 'inner demon tribulation' that occurs when condensing the nascent soul..."
"But the Chaoyin Qin is more about musical theory, which I know nothing about, so I'll rule that out for now..."
"The Abyss Robe is primarily defensive, and is said to be able to withstand most third-tier attacks, as the saying goes, 'With the Abyss Robe on your body, even supernatural powers cannot cross it.'"
"The Abyss Eye Pearl is a treasure of divine sense, resembling a third vertical eye between the eyebrows. It can amplify one's divine sense by a small realm and also possesses divine sense attacks such as illusions..." "The Tide Nails are flying needle-type magic weapons. A set of thirteen is quite powerful and extremely insidious..."
"The final Sea-Swallowing Bottle has its own internal space, said to be able to swallow rivers and seas, and is adept at absorbing all kinds of magic..."
To be honest, Fang Qing wanted all of these natal magic treasures.
However, one should be realistic. Considering his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage, he naturally chose the "Mysterious Nether Mirror" and the "Abyss Eye Pearl" as his first choices!
After all, one of these involves the Nascent Soul's inner demon tribulation, and the other can enhance divine sense; both are of great use in breaking through realms.
The second choice is entirely based on the materials at hand. He happens to have a piece of the main material for refining the "Sea Devouring Bottle"—the "Nine Abyss Stone"! "But... it's a strange coincidence. If it were the Dao of Qi, I would rather die than use it... but it doesn't matter here."
Fang Qing made a calculation with his fingers and said, "This 'Sea-Swallowing Bottle' seems to be related to a fortuitous opportunity?"
Since reaching the Core Formation stage, his divination abilities in the Lesser Universe Sea have undoubtedly reached a new level.
At this point, even calculations involving Nascent Soul stage monsters could barely elicit some response.
When the cause and effect were being deduced, an unexpected figure appeared.
"Showing off her red sleeves!"
"This woman has mysteriously disappeared since she arrived in the cultivation world of the East Sea... Perhaps she's like a dragon entering the sea, or maybe she just doesn't want to expose herself to a Core Formation cultivator anymore?"
"But this woman and I have a deep karmic connection. She didn't need any special means; she just calculated it and it came to me... It seems that this opportunity with the 'Sea-Swallowing Bottle' is also related to the Zhou Tian Star Palace?"